The White House Is Now Feuding With Taylor Swift

Despite Taylor Swift’s best efforts at being an ally, the White House still won’t support the Equality Act. Who coulda guessed!

After winning the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year for the music video for “You Need To Calm Down” on Monday night, Swift reminded audiences that they could find more information about the Equality Act at the end of the video, along with a link to her Pride Month petition. (The video also won the Best Video for Good award.)

The petition calls for the Senate to support the Equality Act, which the House passed in May despite the Republican assholery that preceded it. The bill itself would protect people from discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

“I want to thank everyone who signed that petition because it now has a half a million signatures, which is five times the amount that it would need to warrant a response from the White House,” Swift said after accepting the award, tapping her wrist as if wearing a watch.

The White House heard her loud and clear, and delivered a response that is surely not what Swift wanted. From CNN, emphasis mine:

On Tuesday, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said the Trump administration rejects discrimination but doesn’t support the Equality Act bill.

[…]

“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, the House-passed bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights,” Deere said when asked about Swift’s comments.

Well, she tried. Better luck next music video, eh?